He knew Little Dragon Girl was pure and innocent, and that she understood little of worldly affairs. Yet even the slightest irregularity in martial arts never escaped her notice. Her senses were sharper than those of ordinary people, as pure as a mountain spring.
Sure enough, a trace of worry broke through the usual calm in Little Dragon Girl's cool eyes. She could sense that although Lin Xuan's true qi was still flowing, it seemed to be caught by an invisible force and occasionally became sluggish.
There was also an inexplicable heat rising from his lower abdomen, accompanied by a restlessness that did not belong to the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. The heat felt strange to her, yet faintly familiar, as if it were the ultimate expression of the masculine aura that surrounded Lin Xuan.
She immediately stopped circulating her energy and looked at Lin Xuan's slightly pale face. His handsome features were faintly twisted with pain, lending him an added air of vulnerability.
Her red lips parted slightly. Her voice was as cool as ever, yet carried a rare note of concern. "Young Master Lin, what's wrong?" Her voice was like a breeze in a mountain valley, pure and untouched by the dust of the world.
At Little Dragon Girl's question, Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes. They held a trace of weariness and restraint. He gave a light cough and feigned difficulty as he explained:
"Cough... Miss Long." He paused and took a deep breath, as if suppressing the roiling qi and blood within him. "I've recently been practicing an extremely profound form of Internal Energy. Its nature is purely yang and overbearing, and its power is astonishing, but it occasionally leaves some stagnant energy inside me."
He cleverly blamed his discomfort on his martial arts training and